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Kendrick Johnson (17) Dies after getting trapped in gym mats

Georgia high school student dies after getting trapped in wrestling mats in gym

Authorities say a south Georgia high school student apparently climbed atop an upright roll of wrestling mats, fell into a center opening and died after he became trapped inside.

Lowndes County sheriff's officials said Monday that 17-year-old Lowndes High School student Kendrick Johnson became lodged inside the roll of mats, upside down. His body was found Friday in the high school's old gym.

Investigators say Johnson, who played football for the school, may have been trying to retrieve a shoe that fell into the mat.

Authorities say no foul play is suspected. Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine tells The Valdosta Times that an autopsy, his investigators and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation found no signs of a struggle.

He was upside down in the mat and is believed to have passed out due to the blood flow to his head for an extended period of time, which could ultimately lead to a stroke or heart failure, the report says.

Although investigators do not believe foul play was involved, the sheriff said he and his investigators will continue interviewing students and friends who have additional information.

Kenneth Johnson, the teen's father, told WALB he believes his son was murdered.

"I want to express how did my son go missing during school hours in broad daylight. We know our son was murdered while he was at Lowndes High School. We do know that," Johnson told the station.

Anastasia Roe, the teen's aunt, said her nephew was a good student who ran track and played football. She said he was the life of the party, but reserved when he met new people.

She said information that the family received from the school and the sheriff's office about how the teen was found was inconsistent, and that lead to some in the community to ask questions.

"First we heard he was on the floor near the mat, then we hear he was wrapped in the mat," she said. "It's suspicious."

A call from FoxNews.com to the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office was not immediately returned.

Johnson reported his son missing late Thursday night and his body was discovered Friday morning. The school was placed on lockdown after the discovery, WALB.com reported.

"How can you go on when you have a beloved child who wakes up everybody in the house and makes a laugh out of everything, how can you go on? It's hard," Johnson told the station

What's even more unimaginable for the Johnsons of Valdosta, Georgia, is how their 17-year-old son died: by suffocating after falling headfirst into a rolled-up gym mat at his high school on January 11.

"It felt unreal. You know I sent my child to school for an education and he did go to school one way and came back dead," his mother, Jacquelyn Johnson said.

How could Kendrick Johnson, a three-sport athlete, fall into an upright mat while reaching for his shoe and not get out, as investigators said? It was an accident, police said, as there were no bruises on the body and no signs of foul play.

But the bizarre circumstances didn't sit right with the family, even though they're not sure what happened to their son.

The teen's parents, Kenneth and Jacquelyn, allege the local sheriff department did not follow protocol on the case, moving the body and mishandling evidence. They also believe the sheriff was too quick to make a judgment call on what happened.

Within 24 hours of finding the body, Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine announced that investigators had no reason to believe there was foul play.

Lowndes County Coroner Bill Watson agrees with the family, saying that the body had been moved before he arrived. He also told CNN he was not contacted until six hours after the body was found, although Georgia law states the coroner should be notified immediately.

The final autopsy report, released just last week, stated that the teen died of accidental suffocation; it's what the preliminary autopsy from January 14 said, too.

Taking to the streets

he Johnsons buried their boy in January, but they were still waiting for answers.

After months of waiting for the final autopsy report, the family started speaking up. They've taken to the streets, organizing rallies for justice.

Chants booming over a megaphone have become a daily scene since April in this south Georgia city of about 56,000. "No justice! No peace!" protesters shout.

"I don't feel that there was any investigation until there was protesting and all this attention coming to them," Kenneth Johnson said. "That's when they started to act like they were doing an investigation."

Despite the family's persistent protests and claims that protocol was broken, Lt. Stryde Jones of the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office maintains investigators were "actively working" on the case from the time Kendrick's body was found on January 11 until the final autopsy was released on May 2.

After taking testimony and looking at the physical and forensic evidence, Jones said an accident was the only scenario that fit. More than 100 people, including students, teachers and parents, were interviewed, he added.

Chevene King Jr., the attorney for the Johnsons, has alleged that if Kendrick had been white, the investigation would have gone differently.

But Jones said the case was handled as professionally as in any case.

"Race never played into it," he said. "The victim played into it. That's who we're working for is the victim and the victim's family."

On Vinnie Politans' story they do show the body rolled up in the gym mat as well as a picture of the teens face which seems distorted. I am not sure if anyone can find those? I am looking but there were tons of protests and rallys to get this investigated, wonder why no huge outcry over this one?

Shit, that poor family -having to shame the police into action like that. I saw something about a protest or demand for an inquiry for Kendrick when I was looking up a missing college kid the other week & I meant to go back & check his story later that day. I completely forgot. Thankyou. Reading up now.

Shit, that poor family -having to shame the police into action like that. I saw something about a protest or demand for an inquiry for Kendrick when I was looking up a missing college kid the other week & I meant to go back & check his story later that day. I completely forgot. Thankyou. Reading up now.

And now certain people will ask "why the big deal about this kid?" like it was a big deal to begin with, and his folks didn't have to make a stink.

I was thinking this might've been rather a little too truthful - "But Jones said the case was handled as professionally as in any case" - & my next thought was that there'd soon be a long list of cases under inquiry.

I was thinking this might've been rather a little too truthful - "But Jones said the case was handled as professionally as in any case" - & my next thought was that there'd soon be a long list of cases under inquiry.

But then Ron posted & smacked me back to reality.

Haha. Yea, the reasons these things become "such a big deal" is because cover-ups get exposed and go public, then national. Once the spotlight is on these cases, it's easier to get justice.

You know how many cases are buried and never heard about again? It's bad enough in the city, but I'm surprised anything in a small town is on the up-and-up. No one is watching those people.

Hell, Stubenville's rape case became a big deal, but only after the bullshit got exposed.

The picture they showed on tv was the one above and the body shoved into the gym mat with his a pair of shoes inside which they say are his. The story is he was supposedly trying to get his shoes. I don't see squeezing his whole body in after a pair of shoes, if you are reaching for something you cannot quite get don't you look for something to extend your reach?

The picture they showed on tv was the one above and the body shoved into the gym mat with his a pair of shoes inside which they say are his. The story is he was supposedly trying to get his shoes. I don't see squeezing his whole body in after a pair of shoes, if you are reaching for something you cannot quite get don't you look for something to extend your reach?

Originally Posted by Gawna

Roses are red, violets are blue, seriously where is the fucking ring I gave Julie and ask her mom about the flowers

The picture they showed on tv was the one above and the body shoved into the gym mat with his a pair of shoes inside which they say are his. The story is he was supposedly trying to get his shoes. I don't see squeezing his whole body in after a pair of shoes, if you are reaching for something you cannot quite get don't you look for something to extend your reach?

How would the shoes get in the rolled up mat in the first place? Also if your shoes were in a rolled up mat that was standing upright, wouldn't you push the mat on its side first before retrieving the shoes? I could see some bullies putting his shoes in there, and then when he went to retrieve them they attacked him.

Originally Posted by beli

His face was obviously beaten, and his skull was bashed in. Poor guy

"The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man" -Charles Darwin

Originally Posted by bowieluva

Chelsea, if you are a ghost and reading mds, I command you to walk into the light.